Flirting with Danger
by Jackson384
Summary: Will Joe's fascination with Lily put her in danger?FINISHED! Chapter 5
1. Default Chapter

"You are so beautiful." Holy crap! Where had that come from, Joe? She's half your age. Just 'cause she has on that black dress that was cut way too low doesn't give you permission to let your thoughts run wild. Oh great, now she was looking at him like he was some kind of perv.

Lily wondered why Joe was looking at her like that, with his eyes all dark, but then she also wondered why he had asked her to work this case. Joe himself was working undercover as a mafia hit man, Rene. Word had it the Serione family wanted to take out the police commissioner. An informant inside the family had come forward and the FBI wanted something good on Andre Serione so they wanted Joe to go himself and perhaps nail the guy on other charges too. Lily had it easy. She was to be Tracy, the eye candy, the trophy on Rene's arm. Not that she was the eye candy type. Lily thought that Heather would've been better for this than her. She was just so much more beautiful and exotic. Lily had bought that little black dress hoping it might grow her up about five years, but she had looked in the mirror a few minutes ago, and she still looked like a college student. Oh well, at least Joe seemed to appreciate it. Lily liked the way his eyes moved over her body when she had opened the door. The attention he paid to her curves made her warm all over and now he was telling her she was beautiful.

"Um……..thanks." Geez Lily is that all you can think of to say? You really are a dumb college girl. " You're….uh…you are too……not beautiful……handsome I…uh mean." Lily stammered. She was such an idiot and she could feel her face getting redder by the second. 

   But Joe only flashed her one of his 100 wat smiles and said, "Thanks, my mother always said I was a looker." Lily smiled and Joe was glad. It broke the tension that seemed to creep up everytime they were near each other.

In the car Lily seemed quite  

 "Are you ok?" asked Joe. 

 "Sure………..I'm fine." Joe wasn't convinced.

"Lily if you're uncomfortable with this I can get Heather to do it tomorrow and tonight I can just go alone."

 "No way Joe I can do this with my eyes closed. Besides…you told Andre you had a girl and……I'm your girl." Lily smiled and then looked away. If he hadn't just pulled into the hotel where they were headed he was sure he would've pulled the car over and stripped her of that little black dress then and there. Thank god they were here and he wouldn't be charged with indecent exposure this time.  But with Lily around he feared it was only a matter of time. 

Inside the hotel 'Rene and Tracy' were led to a private ballroom where Andre Serione was holding a party with about 100 of his cronies. Joe's hand was around Lily's waist and for the first time that night she felt totally at ease. Once arriving in the ballroom they were taken to a VIP room where only Andre and three other men were waiting.

"Ah Rene, nice of you to join us and I see you've brought along that beautiful woman you've been telling me about." As Andre spoke she noticed the younger man in the room looking at her like she was some kind of dessert. It made her uneasy and Joe must have noticed this because her rubbed her back to reassure her that he was there or at least that's what she liked to think. In reality Lily knew he was only playing the part.

"This is my girl Tracy. Tracy, this is Andre Serione and his son Martin."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both"

"Likewise," said Andre. "Now, shall we get down to business?" 

Joe didn't like the way Martin was eyeing Lily. Martin Serione had been suspected several times of committing rape but the police had never gotten much cooperation from the victims. They would always come forward and then retreat saying that they were mistaken or the sex was consenual. The FBI suspected money had changed hands, but so far no one could prove it.

"I'm sure Tracy doesn't want to be bothered with all this business talk." interjected Martin. "Let me take her to the ballroom and mingle while you and my father set it up the details of our mutual plan."

No way was Joe gonna  let this guy have even two seconds alone with Lily. 

"I don't thi……….."

"Sure. That sounds like fun." said Lily, taking hold of Martin's arm.

Joe was left standing with his mouth open. What was this crap Lily was pulling? This wasn't part of the plan.

"Don't worry Rene. Martin will take good care of her. Come sit, let's talk business." Andre motioned to a large round table in the corner.

Joe looked back at Lily, desperate to make up some excuse to get her away from that slimeball. "Andre I just can't talk business til I have at least one dance with my girl."

Andre's face tightened as he sighed, "Very well then. Do what you gotta do. But don't keep me waiting too long. I might get tired and I get grumpy when I'm tired."

Joe gave Lily an adoring look and led her out the door to the ballroom. They walked to the center of the dance floor amid the other dancing couples where Joe placed his arm to  around Lily's back and pulled her to him. She could feel his body on hers and for a second she thought she was going to lose herself in him. They were so close his lips were nearly touching her ear. She could feel his warm breath on her neck sending tiny shivers down her spine. She imagined what it would be like if they were really in love but Lily knew Joe was angry and it was only a matter of time before he would let it be known.

Joe was so mad as he walked Lily to the dance floor he could have bitten a nail in two. He thought he had taught her better than this. Never do anything without talking to your handler first, that was the rule and she knew it! He had told her that hundreds of times. Now here they were pressed up against each other and Joe suddenly couldn't speak. His body responded to hers in ways he never dreamed it would. He had always wanted her it seemed, from the time he first laid eyes on her over a year ago til now but only now as their bodies touched did he realize it wasn't just lust he felt for Lily……..

"Joe, don't be mad at me." Lily breathed into his neck.

He closed his eyes and tried to think of a response amid all his feelings of anger, frustration and, dare he say it………….love.

"Lily, what the hell are you doing? This guy is crazy, you know that."

His breath tickled her ear and she pulled him closer. "Joe please, this is part of the job. I can handle myself."

"Oh you mean like the night you got into a car with two drug dealers which I specifically told you never to do and then you were a half a second away from slitting my throat because you got into a mess you couldn't handle." Joe could feel his anger returning. "This wasn't the plan Lily."

"Look, the reason they wanted you on this instead of Darnell is so you could maybe fish around for more than just soliciting a hitman. We've got a chance to do just that."

"That's the thing Lily, there was never supposed to be any we in this, only me!"

Lily pulled back slightly to look in Joe's face. "Then why am I here Joe?"

Joe couldn't answer. How could he? What was he supposed to do, tell her the truth? Well you know Lily the only reason you're here is so I could spend time lusting after you under the guise of pretending.

The music had stopped and still they stood there looking at each other. Martin Serione approached them. ""Excuse me, Tracy. Remember Rene, my father is an impatient man. You don't want to keep him waiting."

Joe never took his eyes off Lily, but instead bowed his head and took her delicate lips in his. He kissed her so tenderly Lily practically trembled in his arms. Before she could respond he broke the kiss and walked across the ballroom and disappeared through the door and she was left with Martin.


	2. An Honest Mistake

Later that night Joe drove Lily back to her apartment. The drive was pretty quiet aside from their discussions on the details of their work that night. Andre was vague, much to Joe's frustration, on his plans for assassination. Instead wanting to meet again tomorrow and talk further. This worried Joe a little, Maybe the guy smelled suits or maybe he was getting cold feet. Either way it was bad news for Joe. Lily hadn't fared much better with Martin. She hadn't got any helpful information out of him pertaining to anything, the rapes, the assassination plot, the money laundering, nothing. But Martin did seem to be hot for her so maybe there was still hope.

"Are you gonna meet with Andre again tomorrow?"

"Yeah I guess. I don't have much of a choice if we want to get this guy."

"So what time are you picking me up?"

"I'm not."

"What do you mean you're not Joe? This is my sting too you know!" She was angry. Why did Joe always insist on treating her like she was some dumb girl who couldn't do anything without his approval.

"It is not your sting and I am not gonna explain it to you again Lily! I am your handler and when I tell you you're not to do something you're not to do it, end of story!"

 Geez…….why did you yell at her like that? She looked like he had just hit her or something. Joe pulled the car over to the curb outside Lily's apartment building.

"Look Lily," Joe said quietly. "I wouldn't let one of my most experienced agents climb in bed with Martin Serione."

"I'm not climbing in his b………….

"But that's where it will lead Lily and I won't be able to stop it without getting us both killed."

Lily gave him a sarcastic look and said, "Well I guess we don't have much of a choice if we're gonna get this guy."

Joe looked at her and he couldn't help but laugh. She was using his own words against him now.

"What?  God Joe, why are you looking at me like I'm some kind of joke? I bet you'd let Heather do this, no questions asked."

Joe could hear her voice break as she turned her eyes away from him to stare out the window.

"Hey……….Lily look at me." Joe said softly. Lily didn't respond. She couldn't. She could feel the tears pooling in her eyes and the last thing she wanted was for him to see what a cry baby she was.

Joe reached out and slowly turned her face to look at him. He had known she was crying but to see her tears spill from her closed eyes nearly broke his heart. He reached up with his thumb and gently brushed a tear from her cheek. She opened her eyes to look at him. My God, she was so beautiful he thought as he looked at her pink lips. He couldn't forget what it had felt like to kiss her.

"You're not Heather, Lily." Joe whispered

"I know I'm a rookie but I…………."

" It's not that……….It's……" Joe realized he was still stroking her face but she wasn't pulling away instead she closed her eyes and turned her face to the side to kiss his palm. That was it. After that everything got blurry. He immediately found her lips and they began to kiss like there was nothing, not the FBI, and certainly no organized crime syndicate, outside of this moment in this car.. She made him crazy. When he was with her all he could think about was another way to get more time with her. That's why he had brought her into this job and even now as he kissed her and pulled her closer and closer to him Joe knew he was endangering her life.

"Lily," Joe breathed against her lips, "This is wrong. I………….can't protect you and…………….make love to you…..too.

Lily relinquished her hold on his lips and moved to his neck. "Then stop protecting me Joe."

They must have made out like that for 15 minutes, kissing, touching, exploring each other. Neither one having enough strength to pull away but yet something held them back from taking it to the next level.

Finally Joe pushed Lily away and they both sat there in silence as they attempted to catch their breath.

Lily didn't understand. She knew now that Joe wanted her as much as she wanted him. This time it wasn't just an act. Maybe that was what scared him. It scared her too but not a night had gone by since she met him that he hadn't invaded her dreams. She could never pull away from him, ever. She waited for Joe to speak but he only sat there staring straight ahead. Finally he said………..

"I'll pick you up at 8:00 tomorrow. We'll be meeting Andre and Martin at the Dasani so dress nice. Goodnight."

My God, he couldn't even look at me now? thought Lily. After he he'd kissed her until she was nearly crazy?

"Joe I………."

"Goodnight Lily."

His words stung. Immediately Lily felt the tears spring back into her eyes but she didn't want him to see so she opened the car door and fled to the protection of her apartment.

Joe sat there for a while just thinking. He was so ashamed with himself in everyway. He had to be the most selfish person that ever lived. He got Lily into this mess because he wanted her so bad and now when he has her he pushes her away. He was her handler! What was he doing kissing her anyway? To top it off he didn't even have the decency to leave her at home tomorrow but he could take care of her, right? He just wouldn't leave her alone with Martin. Besides, he had to see her again……….

A young man watched as Joe drove off. When he was gone the man exited his car and headed for the apartment building. Inside, he found the night watchman.

"Excuse me sir. I am a friend of the girl who came in a few minutes ago. Tracy is her name, blond hair, black dress. Can you tell me what apartment she's in?"

"Tracy? Oh you must mean Lily." said the old man. "I hope you weren't the one responsible for all that crying she was doing? She's a sweet girl y'know."

"Lily, huh?"

"Yeah. If you're such a good friend why would you think her name was Tracy?" asked the old man.

Martin Serione simply smirked. "It was an honest mistake." And with that he turned and left


	3. Whatever You Say

The next day, Lily got up early, not that she had slept that much anyway. She was too confused to sleep. First Joe had refused to let her go tonight, then he had kissed her like he couldn't keep his hands off her only to push her away and act like nothing ever happened. Now here she was buying a new dress for tonight, with the FBI credit card of course. Lily would never buy anything as fancy on her own. She considered herself way too plain for anything so extravagant. 

" Miss?" the saleswoman looked at Lily expectantly.

Hmmm? I'm sorry ma'am. What did you say?" She was thinking about Joe again. God, I have to stop doing this, she thought. I'm living in a dream world.

"Would you like a necklace or some earrings to go with that?  We have some beautiful diamond chandalier earrings that would look perfect with that."

"No thanks. This is fine."  Lily didn't believe the FBI would be too thrilled if they saw diamond earrings on her credit card receipt. I wonder if Joe would like them? she thought. She really didn't know what he liked, aside from kissing her. 

Well here she was again. Sometimes it truly amazed her how she managed to relate everything in her life back to Joe. I really need to get a grip, thought Lily. I doubt he's sitting around dreaming about me 24/7.

******

Sometimes Joe worried about himself. All he could do was think about Lily and that was before last night. Now he was dreaming about her too and not all his dreams were good. Oh, they'd start out that way. Their kissing in the car would lead to his bed and he would tell her how much he loved her but then things would change. Everything would be pitch black and Joe could hear Lily screaming but he couldn't find her voice.He couldn't speak, he couldn't see, he was powerless to help her. Thank God he woke up before he could see what was happening to her. Joe didn't know if he could survive seeing her in pain like that. All of this made those concerns about tonight start to turn in his head but Joe knew he was at his best undercover. He could play any part and fool even the most jaded criminal. There was really nothing to worry about…………..

*****

Later  that evening Lily got dressed in the dress she had bought. It was long and the back dipped far below her waist. It was a beautiful cream colored satin that looked even paler against her olive skin. For once Lily decided to wear her hair down. Her long blond hair was usually her downfall, making her look way too young but tonight it seemed to go with the dress so she decided to take a chance.

Lily had barely gotten her lipstick on when she heard the doorbell. Her pulse involuntarily quickened at the thought of seeing Joe again. She knew it was foolish to think they could ever really be together. All they could hope for would be secret lovers, stealing time and touches here and there, but it was moments like these that made her think that whatever time she could get  with him would be enough.

"You ready?" Joe asked as Lily opened the door.

Was that it? Lily thought. No, wow Lily you look stunning? No, you are so beautiful?

Ok, two can play this game, she thought.

"Yep. I'm ready." Lily turned and grabbed her purse and walked out the door without giving Joe a second look.

"Ouch that hurt,  thought Joe but he knew he deserved the cold treatment.. When Lily had opened that door his resolve to keep her at arms length had nearly crumbled. That dress looked unbelievable on her. The way it hugged her slender body, and then there was the back or lack thereof. She was breathtaking but Joe knew he had to keep his feelings for Lily in check at least until they were done with this undercover operation. He should never have gotten Lily involved in this but now that she was he had to protect her and he couldn't do that if he was busy mentally undressing her all the time.

Once in the car Joe decided it would be best if they could run over the ground rules for tonight. He knew Lily wasn't going to like the rules but somehow he had to get her assurance that she would abide by them this time.

"Ok Lily, here's what's gonna happen tonight. We're gonna go in there, eat a nice dinner, nail down some charges for soliciting a hitman,  and get out. Nice and clean, right?"

"Right," Lily whispered as she stared out the window.

"Lily, I'm serious alright? No secret meetings with Martin Serione. I don't have a good feeling about any of this tonight and I don't need to worry about you."

"Why would you worry about me?" Lily asked sarcasticly

Joe let out a long sigh. "You know why Lily. Now can I please get a promise from you to stay by my side at all times tonight."

"Of course."

"Say it Lily."

"Ok, yeah. I promise! Is that what you wanna hear?" Lily was getting tired of this protection kick Joe was on.

"Well………I guess it'll have to do. We're here."

They pulled up to the valet and Joe took Lily's hand in his.

"Look when this is all over I promise I'll tell you why it is I worry so much about you. It isn't because I think you can't take care of yourself."

Lily smiled. She hadn't intended to but when Joe looked at her like that her body went on automatic.

As they got out of the car a man approached them. Joe recognized him from the night before. He was one of Serione's guys.

"Excuse me sir, but there's been a change of plans. Mr Serione is not feeling well and he wanted to continue the meeting at his residence." 

No way. Something about this wasn't right, thought Joe.

"Not feeling well, huh? I hope it's nothing serious but I promised Tracy a  meal at the Dasani so you can tell Andre that we'll just have to reschedule."

"Pardon me sir but I don't think Mr. Serione will be too pleased……….."

Joe sighed angrily "You know, I don't really c…………………"

"We'd love to come talk to him at his home. The Dasani can wait, right Rene baby?"

Oh God Lily…………What was she doing now?

"Well sir it appears you have the beautiful lady's approval so if there is no more discussion we have a car waiting."

Joe was silent for a few seconds as he weighed the options.

"Alright but if it's all the same to you we'll drive ourselves."

"Nonsense, we have a car here right now and the valet has already taken yours. Mr. Serione will have you dropped back off here to pick up your car after the meeting."

This was crazy! Getting in someone else's car went against everything Joe had learned over the years but the man was so persistant. What could he say that wouldn't arouse suspicion? He finally concluded there was nothing he could say without blowing their cover so………..

"Sure, ok. Whatever you say."


	4. Dreams Come True

Lily could tell Joe was nervous. Once they were in the car she could see his eyes dart around as if he was looking for the quickest exit in case things got bad. She had never seen him this rattled before.

Lily scooted as close to Joe as she could along the backseat.

"It'll be ok." she whispered in his ear.

Joe didn't reply right away. Finally he fixed his sad eyes on her and gently brushed her lips.

"I'm sorry Lily."

Lily didn't understand but the backseat of a mafia family's car wasn't exactly the ideal place to have this discussion so it would have to wait until later she guessed.

The low hum of the moving vehicle made Lily sleepy and she found herself fighting to stay awake. The drive was longer than she anticipated which made her feel uneasy. She tried to pay attention to her surroundings and commit them to memory just like Joe taught her but with the increasing darkness it was becoming nearly impossible. They seemed to be near a lake or was it a bay? Lily couldn't tell.

"I thought we were meeting Mr. Serione at his house." Joe said deceptively casual, as the car made an unexpected turn.

"Mr. Serione is visiting friends tonight." came the terse reply from the front seat.

This just keeps getting worse and worse, thought Joe.

Finally they passed though huge cast iron gates with a wave from the gatekeeper. Lily could see the huge house nestled in the trees in the distance. Tall palms lined the drive and to the back of the house Lily thought she could see the water again. The car pulled up in front of the house where a huge man stood waiting for them.

"Mr. Serione is waiting for you in the upstairs study. Follow me."

Joe held Lily close as they walked up a huge staircase and down a hall. He hated himself for letting her be here but at the same time his hand on the bare skin of her back felt so right.

 The big man opened a door at the end of the hall to reveal Andre, Martin and several other men whom Joe assumed were bodyguards, seated at a round table.

"Ah Rene, do come in." Andre said enthusiastically. "We've been waited for you to arrive." 

Martin stood and pulled out a seat for Lily.

"Tracy, you look beautiful as always."

Lily politely thanked him and took the seat he offered in between him and Joe.

"Yes doesn't Tracy look beautiful indeed. Rene you must have excellent taste in women." said Andre.

"Mr. Serione, with all do respect, I would rather we get down to business before the small talk."

Andre smiled. "Of course but………..I'm afraid there is one small matter we need to clear up before we begin."

Oh no. This wasn't good. Joe could feel it. He tried to remain calm.

 "And what would that be?"

Andre turned his cold eyes on Lily. "Tracy what is it that you do when you are not sleeping with Rene? Or maybe I should call you Lily."

What was this? Lily was stunned. How did he know her name?

"Lily is my middle name," she stammered.

"This is quite a strange name, Tracy Lily."

Terror started to creep in and Lily was sure she was visibly shaking as her heart pounded in her chest.

"It was her grandmother's name," Joe said holding his cool. "Now if we c……………….."

"See…………the thing is……….I happen to know she's a Fed and I can't do business with a Fed around."

Joe laughed trying to break the tension that threatened to take them down.

"Mr.Serione, do you really think I would share my bed with a Fed and then bring her into your house."

Lily couldn't breathe.

Andre smiled. "Yes………….I think you would…………for a lot of reasons Rene. Or is that your name?"

It hung there for a moment.

Andre continued………"You see I have confirmation that your precious Tracy works as an undercover agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation but you Rene……….you are a little harder to pin down."

Lily interrupted, "But that's crazy. I……."

Joe silenced her with a gentle squeeze on her leg.

"Mr. Serione, I have known Tracy since she was a little girl and….."

"Nevermind!" Andre shouted angrily. "What I want to know is are you going to take care of this problem or should I?"

"What do you mean take care of the problem? There is no problem. Tracy's not a Fed!"

"Very well then.  Martin……… I am certain you can handle this."

"With pleasure father." Martin replied with a predatory grin on his face.

Martin started to grab Lily but there was no way Joe would let him touch her, even if it meant dying.

"Do not touch her!" Joe screamed as he stood and reached for Martin.

Instantly Serione's bodyguards descended on Joe beating him until he could barely move.. The only thing he could do was listen to Lily's protests as that rapist, Martin Serione put his hands on her.

Lily couldn't stop crying as they beat Joe even after he lay crumpled on the floor. She scratched and bit at Martin's hand as he tried to muffle her shouts but it was no use. Soon the men who had beaten Joe came to Martin's aid. They picked her up and took her to an adjacent room where only Martin followed. They threw her down and she fell face first into a small desk in the corner. She felt the warm liquid start to trickle down her forehead and she became very lightheaded. She fell back on the floor as Martin came to stand over her. Lily wanted to move, wanted to get out of there but the pain in her head wouldn't let her.

"So you're sleeping with your boss." Martin stated sarcastically. "That is your boss in there all beat up and bleeding right Lily?"

Oh God, Joe. What have I done? Lily thought.

Martin came down to straddle her.

"You're such a pretty girl. No wonder he couldn't keep his hands off you." he said as he stroked her face.

Lily cried and turned her face to get away from his touch and that's when she saw it. A pen. It must have fallen from the desk when her head had struck it.

Martin's gentle stroking had become more violent as he started to rip at Lily's dress. Lily knew what would happen next and she wouldn't allow that. She had to be strong, if not for herself then for Joe.

In one quick move Lily grabbed the pen and brought it down as hard as she could into Martin's back.

"You bitch!" Martin said as he fell forward on top of her.

He wasn't unconscious, just stunned but it was enough to give Lily the upperhand. She rolled him off her and quickly looked around the room for something to finish the job. She found a heavy metallic vase and she brought it down as hard as she could on Martin's head as he lunged at her again. This time it worked like a charm and Martin lay unconscious on the floor.


	5. All you had to do was ask

Lily wondered if he was dead but she was too scared to look. She hoped Andre and his men hadn't heard her hit Martin. Lily stood by the door and listened for a second. She didn't hear any big commotion but then, she couldn't hear anything out there at all. 

Oh Joe. Lily thought.

Lily knew she needed to get to him but if she went out that door Andre's men would be all over her and what good would that do Joe? She had to find another way out of this room and go get help. Lily looked around the room for a window and lucky for her there was a rather large one behind the desk. She crept over too it and peered out. There was water out there so Lily assumed from her earlier observations that she was at the back of the house. She was only on what appeared to be the second floor. That was good.

.

I may have to jump, thought Lily. And what about Martin?  What if he wakes up and they find out she escaped? Surely they would kill Joe then.

Lily's head hurt and she was starting to feel woozy again.

"Dang it Lily! You can't give into this! Not now!" she mumbled to herself.

After much debate Lily decided she would have to take her chances with the window. She kicked off her shoes and attempted to slide it open. To her amazement and relief it opened easily. Lily slipped out and sat on the window seal for just a second. All that activity had really made her head spin.

Well, here goes, thought Lily. I hope I don't do something stupid like break a leg!

"Shut up Lily." she audibly scolded herself.

Getting up her nerve Lily let herself down as far as possible by holding onto the window seal and then she let go. Pain shot up through her legs as she landed on her feet. Thankfully, nothing seem to be broken as the initial pain seemed to dissinpate.

Where to now? she questioned herself.

 She remembered the tall gates surrounding the house. How would she ever make it beyond those? That's when she saw the moonlight sparkling on the water.

Swim. Of course. She could do that. Besides how far could it be? thought Lily.

She hated to strip down to her underwear but that was how it was going to have to be. There was no way she could swim anywhere in this dress.

As Lily finally stepped into the cool water she heard dogs begin to bark and people shouting. If they had found out about her then they would surely kill Joe but she couldn't turn back now. She had gone too far. So she quietly slipped into the water and disappeared.

Lily had been swimming forever it seemed. Her arms and legs ached along with her head which had never stopped. She didn't know how much longer she could keep this up. Her head was throbbing and she couldn't see anything. It was pitch black. Finally just as she was staring to think she would die out here Lily saw a light in the distance. As she neared she could make out the shoreline and people.

"Help me, please." screamed Lily

The next thing Lily knew she was staring at the white ceiling above a hospital bed. She  turned her aching head to see Darnell sitting with a book in the corner.

"Darnell…wha…"

"Shhhh, don't worry about it Lily. Everything's fine." Darnell said as he jumped to his feet and came to her bedside.

"No……………..Joe! You have to go and get him." Lily started to cry. "Promise me you'll go get him Darnell. I left him…………."

"Lily, girl take it easy. Joe's here at the hospital. He's messed up pretty bad but the doctors say he'll be fine. Marcy's in there with him right now."

"Oh God Darnell….!"

Lily let the anguish of the night before wash over her.

"How?" she managed to ask through her tears of relief.

" Before he left last night Joe asked me to tail you guys. He said he had a bad feeling about it and he didn't want to be caught with no way out. If there was trouble he was gonna speed dial me on his cell. He told me if he didn't say anything then that was my cue to call in the cavalry."

Then the dogs barking and people shouting must have been the FBI. Great, thought Lily. Just great.

"So everything I did was for nothing." Lily said quietly. She was more than a little disappointed in herself.

"No way girl! I'd say you did an excellent job on Martin Serione. You sent him right to the gates of hell!" Darnell laughed.

"You're serious? I killed him with a pen and a vase?"

"Must have been a lucky hit." Darnell snickered.

"Wow! That's the first time I've actually had to kill someone. I would say I felt bad but………" Lily trailed off.

"Don't worry about it for a second Lily. He was a monster."

"Yeah." Lily was silent for a minute as she thought about what could have happened. She closed her eyes against the tears that threatened to spill again. It was too painful for her to dwell on.

"So when can I go see Joe?" she asked.

"Not tonight." said a nurse who had just entered the room. "You have a concussion and you should lie still for a while. In fact, Cutie here needs to be going too so you can rest." The pretty nurse was clearly checking Darnell out.

Lily giggled. "Bye Cutie."

Later, after Lily was sure everyone was gone she got up. She was a bit dizzy but she had to see Joe with her own eyes, to prove he was really alive. Darnell had told her before he left that Joe's room was only a couple of  rooms down from hers so it shouldn't be too hard to find. She crept slowly down the hall making sure none of the nurses were looking. Finally she came to what she thought was Joe's room.

As Lily slipped into the room the sight of Joe's swelled and bruised face made her cringe with pain. He was nearly unrecognizable. Thank goodness he was asleep because she didn't want him to see her reaction.

Lily walked carefully over to his bed where she sat on the edge and lay her head on his pillow. She just wanted to be near him for a while. She loved him so much.

"I love you Joe." she whispered.

Joe could feel her beside him. It was not at all like he had imagined it would be. But still……..she was there and he was grateful.

"I wondered what it would take to get you in my bed." mumbled Joe.

"What?" Lily asked startled. She didn't know he was awake.

"I said, I wondered what it would take to get you in my bed?" This time Joe spoke more clearly.

Lily smiled and lay her head closer to kiss his swollen cheek.

"All you had to do was ask."

The End


End file.
